The Basics
The major determining factor of "price per square foot" is what I call the "Finished Space Ratio or FSR". The FSR is the comparison of the finished first floor square footage versus the finished second floor square footage. To elaborate, let's use a house with 2,800 square feet, 2 ½ baths and 2-car garage with a bonus room as a baseline. Next, let's look at various house plans having this same square footage.

First, the one story house; all the square footage is located on the first floor. This causes the construction of an infrastructure (foundation & roof system) that would produce a 6,000+ square foot two story home. The ratio in this case 100:0 or 100% square footage on the first floor to 0% square footage on the second floor; the most inefficient cost scenario. Next, the 1 ½ story; usually a cape cod style. This situation although better in the efficiency category, is still very anemic when trying to get the biggest bang for your buck. This ratio runs somewhere in the 80:20 to 70:30 range; these plans still generate a two-story foundation/roof system that would equal over 4,500 square feet. Finally, the two story configuration. These ratios's run commonly in the 40:60 area and produce the most cost efficient home.  

As a rule of thumb, we use a cost per square foot of +/- $165.00 for first floor area, +/-$100.00 for second floor area and $75.00 for garage area. What effect then does this have on our examples? Well, in the first case (1 story) the overall cost would be 2,800 s.f. X $65 + 576 s.f. X $55 = $493,680/2,800 = $176.32 per square foot because none of the less expensive second floor space is used. Secondly, the 1-½ story would calculate as follows; 2,100 s.f. X $165 + 700 s.f. X $100 + 576 s.f. X $55 = $448,180/2,800 = $160.07/square foot. Last, but not least the two story; 1,120 s.f. X $165 + 1,680 s.f. X $100 + 576 s.f. X $55 = $384,480/2,800 = $137.32/square foot. Please understand that the above is an attempt to help clients understand the impact of not taking advantage of the less expensive second floor space. These numbers are not set in stone and should be used only as a general guideline as of May 2005. In addition, these figures do not include architectural accessory items such as: screened or covered porches ($75.00/sf), wood decking ($30.00/sf), raised concrete patio ($35.00/sf) and ground level concrete patio ($10.00/sf). Therefore, when you search those plan book pages for your dream home keep the above in mind.

Bells & Whistles
The finish items that cause significant increases in cost per square foot; overall kitchen size and auxiliary cabinetry, type of countertops, flooring, plumbing & electrical fixtures, # of bathrooms, extraordinary trim work. Exterior finish items; porches & patio's, number & type of windows and doors. These items cause the sticker shock, which I explain by way of the "car weight syndrome". "Car Weight Syndrome"??? Well, it goes like this; we know that Chevy makes a car that weighs nearly the same as a Ferrari; but the cost per pound for these two vehicles is not even close because of the quality of the finish features. The same goes for constructing a house. The more bells and whistles, the more you should expect to pay per square foot.

SUMMARY
Unfortunately, we cannot give you precise figures when it comes to quoting prices for one of a kind custom home. It really needs to be designed with the above in mind. Once the plans are fully developed, a full blown pricing needs to be performed.